Basically North Korea is holding South Korea hostage.
Basically the amount of firepower they can pour into Soeul would be
about equivalent of the Tokyo Firebombing, an event that killed far more
people than either actual nuclear explosion. Even then it's not so much the artillery you need to worry about. North Korea has access to actual WMDs. They have used poison gas on their own people, and may well have biological agents. They have nuclear materials and while they may not have actual nukes they may well have dirty bomb shells.
The best chance, basically the only chance, for dealing with North Korea would be to get China on side. China is playing fast and loose with North Korea. They very much do not want the US to take it, because that would put a US friendly nation right on their border and they do not want that if at all possible. They also want to prevent the inevitable refuge crisis. If you could convince China that having North Korea around is too much of a risk for the brinksmanship they allow them to play, you might be able to resolve things more.
As it stands, without a major shift in geopolitics the situation in NK is basically going to get worse and worse. Wait and see, and accept the occasional bloody nose, might be the best and only strategy we have to play at the moment.
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Epsilon
Basically the amount of firepower they can pour into Soeul would be
about equivalent of the Tokyo Firebombing, an event that killed far more
people than either actual nuclear explosion. Even then it's not so much the artillery you need to worry about. North Korea has access to actual WMDs. They have used poison gas on their own people, and may well have biological agents. They have nuclear materials and while they may not have actual nukes they may well have dirty bomb shells.
The best chance, basically the only chance, for dealing with North Korea would be to get China on side. China is playing fast and loose with North Korea. They very much do not want the US to take it, because that would put a US friendly nation right on their border and they do not want that if at all possible. They also want to prevent the inevitable refuge crisis. If you could convince China that having North Korea around is too much of a risk for the brinksmanship they allow them to play, you might be able to resolve things more.
As it stands, without a major shift in geopolitics the situation in NK is basically going to get worse and worse. Wait and see, and accept the occasional bloody nose, might be the best and only strategy we have to play at the moment.
----------------
Epsilon